Rescue program gives cactus a second chance

For Otero County Master Gardener Carol Lafferty Scott, "the most interesting thing in the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens was the cactus rescue program, I thought that was cool, I never thought what you'd do with endangered cactus."

Lafferty Scott referred to a program provided by the gardens, which are located on the University of Texas at El Paso campus. The Desert Gardens draw thousands of visitors a year.

"It's against the Mexican law to dig up some of those rare cacti," she said. "They get caught at the border, bringing the cactus in to sell them, like contraband. Plant quarantine officers impound them. They're live plants, you can't take them back and plant them, so they're put in a sanctuary where they will be used for teaching and for exhibition."

Lafferty Scott was one of a contingent of Otero County Master Gardeners who went south last week for the field trip organized by Jane Crockett of Alamogordo and Marfa, Texas.

Crockett said she was most impressed "with the way they keep the gardens, always working on them. The plants are well taken care of," she said.

Another Otero Master Gardener, John Wilson, also was impressed with the continuous maintenance.

"They can speak to the gardens, the way they grow, the way they are planting," Wilson said. "The fact they have Bigtooth Maple trees growing therethey are very difficult to grow, because they are not indigenous.

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John M. White, curator of the gardens, escorted the group. He was the El Paso Extension horticulturist from1980 to 1999, and the New Mexico State University Extension-Dona Anna County agent from 1999 to 2007, before moving to the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens in 2007.

"This is the largest collection of Chihuahuan Desert material in the United States, with 750 species," he said. And he knew every one of them by their Latin and common names.

"I've known John for years and knew he was in charge of this, so I thought it would be interesting for the Master Gardeners," Crockett said.

Wynn Anderson started the two-acre Gardens. They opened in September of 1999, after 10 years of planning and fund-raising, he said. He worked in university administration for UTEP from 1966 to 2010.

"We wanted a place our students and faculty could use for education and research,'' Anderson said. "And we wanted to show these plants in landscape settings to educate the public about the use of native plants in landscape, so people would know there's more to desert landscape than cactus and rocks."

The gardens are a popular attraction.

"Probably five to six thousand people a year come through," White said. "Sometimes visiting professors bring their students, doing a circuit in the Southwest."

Master Gardener Norm Renfrow said he valued "the overall layout, the diversity of the plants and how they were put together."

"The Contemplative Garden is one of the best. And there are places you can take a break in the shade,'' he said.

Renfrow assists Gail Goossen with the upkeep of the Alameda Park Butterfly Garden, a Master Gardener project. "She does an outstanding job with it," he said.

The Chihuahuan Desert Gardens are open seven days a week, 365 days a year, from dawn to dusk with no admission charge. The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. White said he is available to give guided tours Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call him at the museum for arrangements, at 915-747-5565.

There is also a "Self-Guided Walking Tour-Chihuahuan Desert Gardens of the Centennial Museum at the University of Texas at El Paso," a six-page guide that is available with a map for those who prefer to do it themselves.

It was compiled by Anderson, the past Botanical Curator, in January, 2010.